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"You'll be asked about your time with Lisa. I want to run through some sample questions with you so we can think of how best to phrase your answers."
For the next hour, we went over questions that he thought I would be asked by the defense, to try to cast doubt on my testimony and to try to paint Lisa in the best possible light so that she could use the defense that she'd been coached to kill Kate. While the police didn't believe that, and I had never been charged, the defense could still try to push that narrative to make Lisa appear more sympathetic to the jury for when the sentencing came around.
They would play up her vulnerability, her traumatic past as a victim of child abuse, her age, and the fact she was a submissive to an older man, Derek Richardson, who they would likely claim dominated her and abused her. His death was not part of the current trial, and would not be brought up of course, but he would be painted as a controlling man who abused her. I would be painted that way as well and my background in BDSM would ensure that label would stick.
People would be sympathetic towards Lisa even if they thought she was guilty. They would see her as a victim as well as an accused because of her age and gender and past. Above all, I had to be brief with my responses, and not spend any time arguing the case for BDSM. I would speak about it as a small part of a busy life that I explored for a few years and left behind after my marriage to Kate.
The defense would try to unsettle me and make me stumble or admit something to make Lisa look less culpable. I'd have to keep my cool and not let them do that.
I didn't relish the thought of having to defend myself but I had to do it.
When we were finished going over the facts of the case and my involvement with Lisa, Gary stood and extended his hand once more.
"I'm sorry we have to go over this, but it's necessary if you want her to be convicted and sentenced to a maximum. It's clear to me that she's mentally unstable and calculating. She needs to be put away for a long time. You want to do whatever you can to make sure the prosecution is able to do that. "
"I'm meeting with the prosecutor tomorrow to go over my testimony. Will you be there?"
"I will. We should meet again the day before your appearance so we can go over this again."
"I'll be here."
I left his office and made my way out to my car, steeling myself for my meeting the following day with the prosecutor who would go over my testimony and ensure we had all the facts straight.
My next stop was at the foundation to meet with Dave Mills and catch up on the projects completed, ongoing and in the pipeline. It felt strange to walk into the building after several months away. Everything was familiar but at the same time, I felt like everything was new. Janine, one of the receptionists, was seated behind the counter as I got off the elevator and walked past the walls of posters depicting our different projects around Africa and now, in the USA.
"Hello, Dr. Morgan," she said with a smile. "Welcome back."
"Thank you. It's great to be back. How are you?"
"I'm fine. Dave's in the boardroom, waiting for you to arrive. Would you like a coffee or water?"
"Water would be great," I said. "Thanks."
I went down the hall to the boardroom, which looked out over the Hudson. Inside, Dave sat at the head of the long oval table, his laptop open and a projector on the tabletop beside him.
"Drake," he said and stood up, coming to meet me at the door. "Welcome back. It's good to see you. We've missed you around here. Staff have mentioned that they noticed your absence. You used to come by at least once a week."
"Good to be back," I said and we shook hands. I clapped him on the back and we went to take our seats at the table. "How have you been?"
Dave spent the next few moments catching me up with his private life. He was seeing a new woman and was selling his apartment and going to buy a house in Brooklyn.
"That's a change," I said, surprised at this development. "Why Brooklyn?"
"Time to settle down. I want a garden. I want a home, not a bachelor pad."
"You're getting old."
"I am!" he said with a laugh. "I want a life, not just a living."
"Understood. And this woman you're seeing—."
"Lila," Dave said, smiling when he said her name. "A beauty. She's a policy wonk for one of the non-profits we fund. We met last year and I've been circling around her for months but she resisted my manly charms until she didn’t."
I raised my eyebrows. She sounded like just Dave's type. Probably smart and pretty. Someone like Kate.
"She's the reason you want to settle down and have a life and a garden?" I asked, grinning at him.
"Something like that."
